Reapers
Reapers, so named by the Protheans (known as the "Old Machines" by the geth), were an incredibly advanced species of living spaceships, they resided deep in the dark space between galaxies -- hibernating there for 50,000 years at a time. The only known sapient, space-faring race that the Reapers were aware of and never attempted to eradicate were the xel'naga. History The Reapers were built by the Catalyst more than a billion years before the Common Era using genetic material harvested from the Leviathans. The first Reaper built was the Harbringer. They were part of the Catalyst's scheme to preserve sapient life, awakening from hibernation to cull the Milky Way of species advanced enough to create synthetic lifeforms that might destroy them. They would, during each cycle, preserve and catalog the memories and genes of each species that they eradicated. In order to speed up the advancement of spacefaring races, the Reapers -- under orders from the Catalyst -- constructed the Citadel and the mass relay network. In one of their early harvests, the Reapers destroyed the Slaver Empire. During this harvest, however, the Leviathans managed to kill one of the Reapers -- leaving its corpse in space where it would come to be called the Leviathan of Dis. Some time later -- after having gone through hundreds of their harvests -- the Reapers returned to cull the Protheans. The Protheans resisted and fought back -- but to no avail. The next culling was slightly delayed, thanks to actions taken by the Protheans and by Commander Shepard. Nevertheless, the Reapers were able to return to the Milky Way to begin their harvest. With Shepard working to unite the galaxy against the Reapers, war erupts between the Reapers and their indoctrinated minions, and the free-thinking civilizations of the galaxy. Finally, Shepard and his allies constructed the Crucible, and ultimately Shepard used it to end the threat of the Reapers. Physiology & Abilities The Reapers, having cataloged the memories of every species they wiped out, contain billions of minds interconnected into immortal, machine bodies. These bodies are designed to look very much like the Leviathans -- which, in turn, bear a resemblance to cuttlefish. Subtypes There are various subtypes of Reapers, which are distinguishable from each other, but each bear a unique appearance. These include: * The Harbringer * Capital Ships - also called "Sovereign-class" * Troop Transports * Processors * Destroyers Indoctrination Reapers, and Reaper artifacts, have an ability to control the minds of those in close contact with them. This mind control is permanent, and subtle enough that the subject will still believe they are acting of their own free will. This ability remains even after a Reaper itself is killed, as they are connected to the consciousness of other Reapers. A research team was indoctrinated while inside the Leviathan of Dis, 37 million years after it had perished. Armaments Aside from indoctrination, Reapers are incredibly powerful warships, including weapons that fire at near-light speeds. One such weapon fires a beam of molten metal, that is capable of tearing through even the sturdiest spaceships or those with shielding. Source Reapers are derived from Mass Effect. Reapers Category:Villains Category:Mass Effect Villains Category:Living Ships Category:Biomechanical Lifeforms Category:Species Category:Extragalactic Species